


the otways

by Siriuslysad



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Australian Marauders, Enjoy!, Marauders, Marauders AU, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Modern Marauders (Harry Potter), hhhh, idk - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:40:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27448018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siriuslysad/pseuds/Siriuslysad
Summary: featuring the otways (a real place in victoria), australian boys, bikes, surfboards and the ocean. what was intended by me to be simply a meet cute.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Kudos: 4





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> FLP the cat creates a friendship

Remus enjoyed walking- he always had. Ever since he was little he would wander the streets, not going anywhere in particular, just trying to escape for a few minutes. The Lupins had moved to a small beach town near the Otways three days before, a week after Remus’ dad lost his job. His mother had terminal cancer. She wanted to live by the ocean, always. So, when Lyall Lupin got let off work, the small family jumped at the chance to move- and here they were, 20 kilometres out from Melbourne, finally living by the sea.  
Remus was walking- in need of an escape from the boxes and the stress and the suffocating nature that is losing ones mother. He walked for a very long time. The Otways were new to Remus- back home he’d had a general idea of where he would wander, but here he had no idea, and so he found himself drifting through the bushlands above the sea. There were mountain bike trails that he followed, trekking his way over rocks and stones until, eventually, he reached the highway again. It was a large highway, running along the coast and bisecting the bush from the crashing ocean below. Surfers dotted the waves like flies in soup. Remus found he quite liked to watch them. On his trek back home along the road, two boys zoomed past him down the hill. They had surfboards attached to their bikes, and Remus turned to watch, intrigued by their nonchalant laughter as they sped down the hill without hands on the handles. They were wearing wetsuits, and there wasn’t a helmet in sight. Remus often found himself yearning for something so simple.  
The next day Remus walked again, finding himself enamoured with the idea of meeting those two boys with surfboards on their bikes again. This time Remus walked along the beach trail, assuming that boys with surfboards would likely frequent it coming to and from the sea- but to his dismay, he didn’t see them again. So he tried the next day, and the next, and then again the day after that- each day leaving his mother and father in search of the boys. He had two days left of the winter school holidays, and he knew that once busy with school his walks would be cut short- so he had to find them. He had to see them again.

It was a rainy day- though Remus didn’t take an umbrella. He held FLP- his cat- under one arm, and retraced his original trek through the Otway bushlands. A bike zoomed past him without warning and stopped abruptly on the trail some 5 meters out in front. Remus stopped too. The boy’s elbow was bleeding, he had a plaster cast on one wrist, and he wasn’t wearing a helmet. Before this boy could turn around, however, another bike wove quickly around Remus, skidding to a stop millimetres from crashing into his friend. ‘Fuck, Sirius!’, the owner yelled, glaring at his friend and sitting back in his bike seat. Sirius with the broken wrist had turned, however, and was staring at Remus. He and his friend were the helmetless boys from the hill.  
‘Tell me you’re not walking a cat. In the rain. In the bush’. He moved his head slightly with each sentence.  
Remus was unsure of how to respond. He hasn’t imagined running into the hill boys like this- not with him clutching a cat to his chest and walking along a mountain bike trails that were not designed for pedestrians. In the rain, no less.  
‘I’m... sorry?’, he said with a wince, hoping to god these boys wouldn’t yell at him for being so stupid. Yet, to Remus’ surprise, they laughed.  
‘It’s cool, mate. It’s funny, actually’, The second boy said with a grin. He wore cracked glasses and had mud all over his shins. ‘Why are you walking your cat, anyway?’  
‘He was getting restless’  
‘You’re not a local, are you? I don’t think I’ve seen you at school, yet, which would be odd considering there's only about 40 people in our year level’, the boy with broken glasses said, earning himself rolled eyes from Sirius.  
‘Don’t go all weird on him, Jamie. He can’t help if he’s not a local’  
Remus felt he had to defend himself slightly.‘Just moved here from Melbourne. I’m in year 11 this year’  
‘Us too- year 11 that is. We’re locals’, Jamie said, nudging Sirius on the arm playfully. Sirius swatted him away.  
‘You can be our mate, yeah?’  
‘We need a fourth friend so Pete stops getting left out for partners’  
Remus was again at a loss for words but still managed to stutter out a ‘sure’. He really did want to be their friend.  
James smiled at him- a broad grin that would’ve made any girl weak at the knees. ‘Good man. I’m James’  
‘I’m Sirius’  
‘We live in the old house at the end of the Otways. Car park one’  
Remus couldn’t help himself. ‘You live... together?’  
Sirius grinned at him, as though this was old news to everyone. He was really quite attractive, Remus thought, and he scolded his brain quietly for thinking so. It was the little bun.. and the curtains... and the sports headband...Remus focused his attention back onto what Sirius was saying. ‘I’m adopted. Well, sort of. Parents kicked me out last year’  
‘Jesus’, Remus said, suddenly feeling very guilty about finding the sports headband attractive. ‘I’m sorry, that sucks’  
‘Don’t be, it’s really no worries. Jamie’s always been my brother, really’  
‘Love him to death, don’t I?’  
‘Sure do’  
Remus could see them as brothers, now that they said it. They spoke like a well oiled machine, and Remus felt himself following their conversation like a tennis match. Surprisingly, though, he didn’t feel left out.  
‘School starts tomorrow’, he said suddenly, trying to fill the slightly awkward silence creeping in. FLP squirmed in his arms, and Remus tucked him further into his coat, watching Sirius’ eyes light up with glee.  
‘I still can’t believe you’re walking your cat’  
‘We need to get you a bike and a board or something’  
Sirius grinned. ‘Maybe a life’  
‘Give him a break, he’s new’  
‘Yeah, give me a break, I’m new!’, Remus said, slightly affronted.  
Sirius laughed. ‘M'kidding, mate. Say something mean back. It’s called banter’  
‘You look like you're in a post-punk band with that hair'  
James cackled. 'Holy shit, you're right', he said, ruffling Sirius' dark mullet.  
Sirius, to his credit, also laughed. 'There we go, you've got it!'  
James’ pocket vibrated. FLP squirmed again.  
‘I should get home- FLP is not enjoying this walk like I thought he would’, Remus said, reluctant to leave these two very strange boys behind. ‘I’ll see you at school tomorrow though?’  
James huffed a laugh. ‘If I can wake up on time’  
‘You’ll see me period 3 onwards’, Sirius said with a lazy grin. Remus could only assume this meant he was going to also wake up late. It started to rain a little harder.  
‘How far are you guys from home? It’s really wet out here’  
‘Ages. Might go back to the road- trail gets dangerous if it’s too slippery’  
‘And the Otway panther likes to come out in the rain’, James said as he got off his bike. Sirius did the same, laughing.  
‘You wanna avoid the Otway panther if you’re staying on the trail.’  
Remus looked at them incredulously. He couldn’t quite tell if they were joking. ‘You’re not serious?’, he said, but Sirius and James nodded at him. ‘We’re in Australia though?’  
‘The Otways are mighty similar to the amazon, mate’, James said gravely, but at the look on Remus’ face he laughed. ‘You’ve never heard the legend of the Otway panther?’  
‘No?’  
‘Jesus, dude. You’ve got a lot to learn’  
‘Mums calling, James. We can tell him tomorrow’. Sirius turned to Remus. ‘Don’t worry, the Otway panther doesn’t actually exist’. He grinned. ‘Hopefully’  
‘Alright, fuck off. I’m going- and I’m not getting eaten by a mythical creature, thank you very much’  
‘See you tomorrow then’  
‘See you tomorrow then’


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> featuring pretty girls, surfboards, and a chicken shop. one very long day of a very short week

Remus was five minutes late to homeroom- but luckily for him, so was James. Sirius, apparently true to his word of arriving for period 3, was not with him. The town highschool was small- it was a local victory that such a barren institution could remain alive for so long- and it seemed that the locals were quite proud of it too. James certainly was. He talked Remus’ ear off about it on their way to homeroom- about how the school was barely supported by the government; how it relied on donations from wealthy families looking to breed surfing prodigies; how despite their small numbers, they had a very high quality of education. When they reached the penthouse classroom, however, he stopped.  
‘Our homeroom teacher is also our English teacher. Her name is Ms McGonnagall. She’s nice, but strict. She’ll go easy on you, though, if you’re with me’  
‘Right’  
‘We have all of our core classes together- schools not big enough to support multiple classes per year level, and all. You’ll have electives, obviously, but there’s not too many of them a week. I’m doing chem and pottery, Sirius is doing chem and lit, Pete’s in computer tech and photography’  
‘Right, okay. I think I’m doing literature and bio’  
‘Perfect- Marlene's in bio. She’ll help you out’. James turned to open the door. He stopped, however, and looked back at Remus. ‘I never got your name’  
Remus realised that James was right- he had forgotten to introduce himself the previous day on the trails. He blushed, feeling rather embarrassed about his own lack of social skills. ‘Remus’  
‘Alrighty then, let’s go’, James said, plastering a charming grin on his face and opening the door.  
Mrs McGonnagall, seeming slightly weary, looked up as the door opened. ‘You’re late, James’, she said, looking at him from over her tea. She had a stack of essays on her desk and wore a very large amount of black clothing.  
‘I know, Ms McGonnagall- I’m sorry. I was just showing Remus around-he’s new’. James said all this without dropping his charming grin, and Remus wondered if Ms McGonnagalls stern look was actually just a facade that James had managed to crack once and wouldn’t give up hope for cracking again. Remus noticed a red-headed girl in the corner watching James with what seemed to be thinly veiled amusement.  
Mrs McGonnagall sighed. She seemed quite long-suffering. ‘I’ve already put in the roll, so you’ll have to go down to reception after homeroom’, she said to him. James smiled sheepishly before glancing at someone across the classroom, giving them a cheeky grin and receiving shakas back. They started a silent conversation. Ms McGonnagall turned to Remus.  
‘Welcome, Remus. I see you’ve already made some friends? I’ve got your timetable with me here’. She beckoned him over.  
‘Uhhh, yeah’ said Remus as he took his timetable from her. ‘James. And Sirius- though I don’t know where he is now.’  
At this James turned back to Ms McGonnagall, who had looked to him for an explanation. Sirius and James’ relationship, thought Remus, seemed to be more codependent than he had first realised.  
‘He’s at an appointment in the next town over’  
‘Your mum called the school already?’  
‘Yeah, I reckon so’  
‘Do you know when he’ll be back?’  
‘Period 3 likely’, James huffed a laugh. ‘Next towns like 20 minutes away’  
‘That’s Math’s with Mr Flitwick, yes?’  
James nodded.  
‘Perfect. Have a seat, boys, we’ve still got 10 minutes left of homeroom’  
James made a beeline for his friend who he was having the silent conversation with earlier and dragged Remus along behind him. Remus was glad of this- he didn’t want to be left alone to make new friends. As they sat down, Remus could see James’ friend giggling slightly.  
‘You got grilled mate’, he said, leaning in. James punched him on the arm.  
‘This is Remus, Petey. Our mate.’  
Petey held out his hand, smiling, and Remus shook it tentatively. ‘It’s Peter, really’, he said. ‘James is big on the nicknames, though’  
‘Right I am’  
Peter giggled slightly, before addressing Remus again. ‘You’re from Melbourne, right? You’ll love it here- lots of hot chicks and such’  
‘Lots of hot chicks in Melbourne too- but yes. It’s nice here’.  
‘Probably more if you think about population sizes and such’, said James with a grin, giving Remus a wink. ‘Get much action, Rem?’  
‘Not with boys like Petey on the prowl’  
Peter laughed. ‘Really? I might just have to move down’  
James giggled slightly and mouthed virgin across the table to Remus. Peter hit him.

Period two was biology, and before the class started, James introduced Remus to Marlene, who he had enlisted to look after him. Remus thought it funny how much of a mother hen James was, but didn’t say anything. Marlene was a pretty girl, with long blonde hair and quite a few piercings. She smelled like salt and goats milk soap.  
‘Be good to him, Mar. He’s our mate, got it?’, James said, leaning against the door to the bio classroom.  
Marlene laughed. ‘Don’t worry, James’, she said, grinning at Remus, ‘Lils and I will take good care of him’  
‘You better. And don’t let that Snape fucker try and steal him from me, okay?’. Remus knew Snape to be the greasy boy who wouldn’t share his pencil in English, and thought James’ comment unnecessary- he wouldn’t befriend Snape.  
Marlene rolled her eyes and shoved James away. ‘Yes yes, alright. Off you go to chem now, Potter’  
Biology was interesting, to say the least. Of their year level of 40 students, there were 12 in the class, and Mrs Sprout was struggling to keep a hold on them. There was a spider fiasco, much bitching about James and Sirius from the pretty red-head Lily (which Remus found rather amusing), discussions of Marlene’s girlfriend Dorcas, and very minimal note-taking. Marlene and Lily laughed very hard when he asked them if the Otway panther was real, making it evidently clear that it was not. By the end of the class, Remus was somewhat exhausted.

Sirius arrived, as he said he would, at recess. He looked somewhat upset, quite different to how happy he had looked when Remus had met him the day before- his eyes were slightly pink, and his cheeks somewhat wet. Remus wondered what kind of appointment he’d been to. Maybe it was orthodontic, and his teeth hurt, or maybe one about his wrist. Remus didn’t want to ask. Sirius sat on James’ other side and leaned forward to give Remus a somewhat weak grin. His hair was pushed back with the sports headband from yesterday.  
‘How’re you finding it?’, he asked, and Remus’ stomach gave a slight flutter. Sirius really was very attractive.  
‘Good, good’. Remus said, trying to remember what had happened that day. ‘Lily Evans kind of hates you- did you know that? I reckon she’s just pretending, though’  
Sirius smiled, genuinely this time. ‘’Course she is. She pretends to hate anyone who’s one of James’ mates- watch out, she’ll hate you next. She loves Marlene, though, even though she’s one of James’ mates’  
Remus could see that much was obvious. The way Lily and Marlene talked- one would think they were twins.  
‘Why does she hate me so much?’, James said around his sausage roll, looking slightly put out. ‘I haven’t even done anything’  
Peter and Sirius exchanged a glance. ‘You were mean to her best friend for a very long time, mate’, Peter said, seemingly trying to stifle a laugh.  
‘But he’s a neo-nazi! So what if I’m mean to someone who doesn’t think minorities deserve fundamental human rights!’  
‘Look mate were not saying you’re wrong’, Peter said delicately. ‘It’s just that he wasn’t a neo-nazi at the time of the bullying, is all’  
James huffed a sigh and bit into his sausage roll. ‘You know- his views don’t just affect me!’, he said with his mouth full, jabbing a finger at Sirius. 'They affect you, too! Plus, Alice is Jewish, and he’s homophobic! You’d think Lily would care more about her best friends than some fucking bigot’.  
Sirius rubbed his back gently, making a shhh noise, and then seeing the confused look on Remus’ face, mouthed Snape over James’ head. That made sense to Remus- Snape definitely seemed like a bigot.

Remus had always liked school back in Melebourne- but school in his new town was somehow even better. It was a nice distraction from the overwhelming sorrow he often felt about his mother’s diagnosis, or the depressive feel to his house. At school, he could forget everything else that was going on in his life-which Remus always liked. After school in Melbourne, Remus would catch the train home and remain in his bedroom until dinner- to most this would seem sad, but Remus quite enjoyed being alone.  
After school in the town, however, Remus did not catch the train home. He did not sit in his bedroom until dinner, either. Sirius, James and Peter went every night after school on mondays to the chicken shop, Remus learnt at lunch, and they wanted him to come too. He agreed, pushing back the thought in his mind that he should go and spend time with his mother- deciding he would go walking with her after dinner to make up for it.  
The chicken shop was empty by the time they got there, having taken a detour to the surf shop to find Remus a board. The whole time Remus wondered how they expected him to pay for it, but as it turned out, James’ parents owned the shop.  
‘It’s free for you’, he had said, handing Remus the blue shortboard, who tucked it under his arm as he’d seen the local surfers do. ‘Don’t worry about paying me back, either’, James added, seeing the look on Remus’ face. Remus wanted to tell him he didn’t know how to surf, but instead stuttered out a thankyou. James grinned broadly at him.  
‘It’s good to learn on fibreglass’, Sirius told him as they left the surf shop. ‘You’ll get used to it quicker’  
‘We’ll take you out on the weekend if you’re up for it?’  
‘We would now, but we’re getting chicken’  
It was good chicken, as well. They sat on the dunes as they ate chips drowned in chicken salt and dim sims in soy sauce, and by the time they had finished, it was nearly five. Remus was reluctant to leave but knew his parents would worry if he was gone for too long. On his walk home, he thought about that day. It had been a good one, if not somewhat exhausting. He found himself wondering yet again about Sirius’ appointment but scolded his brain for prying. He’d known the boy for two days, after all. He didn’t get to know his secrets yet.

The rest of the week followed in a somewhat more dull fashion- although with Sirius and James nothing ever seemed all that dull. After having returned home with a surfboard, Remus’ parents seemed rather delighted that he had made such fast friends, and were keen to meet them. But, as the week progressed, Remus thought increasingly that this was a somewhat bad idea.  
In Maths on Tuesday, James and Peter got into an argument about which invasive species of fish was the coolest, and Remus saw Lily watching them in amusement- confirming his suspicions that she didn’t hate James and his mates much at all. On Wednesday, James turned up to school with a very large cut on his head- the results of his and Sirius’ makeshift skate ramp out the back of their house- and when it started to bleed in English he washed with water from the drink taps. To everybody's surprise, however, it did not get infected. The four of them went mountain biking after school on Thursday, and Peter ran into a tree. On Friday, Remus decided to bite the bullet and ask, for he told himself, the sake of his mother.  
‘Will you guys come to dinner tonight if you’re free? My mum wants to meet you’. Remus felt himself blush as he said it. He was expecting ridicule for being such a Mama’s boy, but to his surprise, Sirius smiled gently.  
‘Of course, mate. James and I are free’  
‘I’m free too. Where do you live?’  
‘17 Wattle Street. The weatherboard house’  
‘We’ll come over when?’  
‘6?’  
‘Perfect mate, we’ll be there’  
‘Yeah, we will. I love dinner’


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the dinner and the surf

Remus was sat out the back of his house. The deck was damp from that afternoon's rain and the air was almost freezing his fingers off, yet still, he sat there, watching his dragon's breath cloud the night air. He blew in his hands for warmth. The first week of school had been good, Remus decided, as he studied the bats flying above. He was beginning to anticipate the coming weekend with excitement, eager to learn how to surf and imagining all the possible things that could happen. Spending time with the boys always left Remus feeling happy inside. They made him laugh as no-one else did- and even if Remus didn’t always understand their jokes, he always felt included. Leading up to their surfing lesson, Remus often found himself imagining Sirius, with his sports headband still firmly in place and his dark wetsuit tight on his small body, laughing as he rolled in the sand with James like he had done when they’d gotten chips on Monday. He had imagined himself almost drowning, too, though didn’t entertain that fantasy for as long. It was rather less exciting. 

James had told Remus they’d be going to second car park as it was an easy shore break to learn on. He’d also told him not to worry, he could borrow James’ wetsuit if he didn’t have his own. Remus had appreciated that. There were things he was beginning to notice about James, as well as most other people in the town, now that he had lived a couple of weeks there. James was generous, completely unwavering in his desire to help others, and would often lend people pencils or, in Remus’ case, gift them surfboards. He had opened his home to Sirius. He was quick to love, as well, and this was made plainly obvious when he told Remus on his third day how glad he was they were mates. The town, too, had trends that only a fool would not have picked up on. The youth, who congregated in small groups from the get-go, would spend almost all of their time with each other- whether it be school, football, surfing, biking, or even eating chips- most of the teenagers were inseparable from their little groups. The town were gossips, as well. The mothers would sit in the coffee shop, giggling in their social circles, discussing this and that over their flat whites. Remus’ mother often joined them. The fathers would work together, drink together and surf together, never ceasing their witty banter. In that sense, James and Sirius were rather like fathers themselves. Never did they ever stop talking to each other. It seemed to Remus and Peter that those two lived to wind each other up. Although, Remus supposed, they also needed each other. 

A knock at the door pulled Remus out of his reverie. They had arrived. He ran back inside, barely opening the flywire in time as he sped through it, and stopped at the end of the hall. He had wanted to open the door himself, but his mother had beaten him to it and was standing in the doorway, laughing, as she spoke with Sirius and James. Remus knew he should’ve expected this (the boys were very good with mothers), but was still shocked nonetheless as he saw his own mum so happily chatting away with them. James had an arm around Sirius’ shoulder, and they were all talking animatedly, like good friends who had known each other for years. Remus made his way over.  
‘Remus!’, Hope exclaimed as he stood next to her. She gave him a pat on the shoulder, which was made difficult, seeing as he was a good foot taller than her, before retreating down the hall. She was wearing her nicest dress that somewhat hid her skinny frame, for which Remus was grateful, as he didn’t want his friends to know just yet how sick she was. He smiled at them.  
‘I see you’ve met my mother’  
James smiled broadly. ‘Oh yeah, she’s nice as’. He gave Remus a fist-bump. ‘How are you going?’   
From under James’ arm, Sirius gave Remus a lazy grin and pushed James’ hand back from his face, which had migrated there to ruffle his hair.  
‘Yeah, not bad, not bad…come in.  
He stood back and watched as Sirius and James took in his hallway, staring admiringly at all of the paintings lining the walls. Remus wanted to say that they were his mother’s work, but couldn’t find the words. Peter arrived not long after, bringing a cake and an explanation that his mum made him bring it. It was a chocolate cake.  
They went to Remus’ bedroom, where James flopped broadly onto the bed and instantly made himself extremely at home. Peter began waxing poetic about Emmy Vance, and Sirius leaned against the wall, laughing gently at him. Remus sat at his desk and tried to ignore the butterflies that seemed to choke him as he watched Sirius. His mother had made lasagne for dinner, and soon enough the smell of it began to drift into Remus’ room.  
‘That smells fucking good, mate’, Peter said, suddenly ceasing his verbal assault on Sirius’ hair. ‘Is that pasta?’  
‘Lasagne, mate. My mum’s made it’  
Sirius looked at him with wide eyes. ‘Fucking oath mate. I love lasagne’  
‘He’d never had it before my place’  
‘Became an addict, he did’, Peter giggled. ‘Seriously! I reckon Effie made him lasagna every night for about a month’  
Sirius looked mock solemnly at the floor, suppressing a smile. ‘Addiction runs in the family guys, don’t joke about it’. He looked up and grinned cheekily at them, and James smacked him. ‘She was tryna fatten me up, too, you know. Wasn’t happy with my BMI until about five months later’  
‘Still isn’t, mate. Proper grimaces every time you don’t wear a shirt’  
Sirius smirked and lifted his t-shirt to showcase the toned lines of his stomach. Remus knew the abs were there- after all, they got changed for P.E together- but still felt his breath catch when he saw them. In an attempt not to stare at Sirius’ snail trail- which was dark and curly and led somewhere nice- Remus lifted his own shirt and flexed his well-toned abs at the other boys. Peter hooted appreciatively. James followed Remus’ suit and thus created a very odd sight for Remus’ mother to walk in on, which she did when she came to announce dinner was ready. She gave them all a quizzical look, but James beamed his ‘charming a mother’ smile at her and she seemed to decide to let it go.

Dinner was a somewhat awkward affair. Peter was apparently ravenous, and showed as much when he gobbled down his serving in minutes. Hope beamed at him when he asked for seconds. Lyall Lupin returned home midway through dinner, and Remus could sense the somewhat tense energy radiating from Sirius when he had heard the key in the lock. He also noticed the way James whispered something in Sirius’ ear and his hand stilled Sirius’ nervously bouncing leg when Lyall walked in the room, which would have been sweet, if Lyall didn’t notice as well. Misinterpreting the situation, he gave the boys an appreciative look.  
‘You two are...?’, he said, as he served himself lasagne, gesturing between them with his spoon. Hope looked up excitedly.  
‘Oh, that’s wonderful!’, she exclaimed, before Sirius or James could get a word in. ‘We were so worried when we moved here, you know, that Remus wouldn’t have anyone else like him... it’s so great that he’s managed to make some other gay friends!’  
Remus’ face felt like it was on fire. He wanted to die, but instead he simply took a long drink of water and stared at his plate. Sirius and James were looking at his parents with somewhat embarrassed expressions on their faces, and Peter was staring at him in shock. Hope’s mouth opened slightly in guilty recognition. Shit, she muttered.  
Sirius shifted in his seat and grinned somewhat awkwardly at Hope. ‘James and I are not dating, no’, he said, running a hand nervously through his hair but never faltering his smile. ‘Just very close’.  
He then shoved a very large spoon of lasagne into his mouth and looked at his lap, suddenly as red as the half-finished meal before him. Lyall was looking anywhere but the boys, while Hope was looking very worriedly between Remus and his friends. The atmosphere was awkward, which James seemed to notice, and he spoke as soon as he realised Sirius was not planning on saying anything more.  
‘We don’t care that Remus is gay, though’, he said, eyes never leaving Remus’ beet-red face. Remus was still staring at his lasagne, trying not to catch his mother’s’ eye.  
Peter nodded eagerly along. ‘We really don’t. I think it’s cool, actually. Being gay and all’  
James looked triumphantly at Hope, who seemed somewhat less worried, and nudged Sirius, making him jump and focus on the conversation around him with wide eyes.   
‘Me too!’, he said quickly, as though trying to dissuade any notion that he wasn’t completely supportive. Remus finally looked up from his plate, and Sirius grinned at him, mouth still full of lasagne and braces slightly red from the sauce.   
‘Right’, Lyall said, looking away from the scene and clearing his throat. ‘So, how was school today?’  
If Remus wasn’t so shocked by the situation that had just occurred, he would have laughed at the blunt change of subject.

The rest of the night finished without any more hitches. James, who Remus later thought he might need to bless, continued gallantly with his ‘impress Remus’ mother’ mission and managed to carry most of the conversation for the whole night. As soon as the boys had left, Hope remarked her liking for him, and Remus felt that James definitely deserved it. Hope had also given Remus ‘the look’ from over her tea that evening- the one that said ‘you are not as subtle as you think you are’- and Remus had had to swat her away as she proceeded to grill him about Sirius.  
‘You like him, don’t you’, she said, giving him a very cheeky smile.  
Remus sighed long and hard, then lied through his teeth. ‘No mum, I do not’  
Lyall interjected helpfully from over his paper. ‘He doesn’t seem very gay to me- quite boyish, actually. That mullet and headband, too…. I reckon just about every girl at school is after him. Can’t blame Remus for having a crush’   
Remus groaned. Not wanting to lecture his father about stereotyping and even more not wanting to reveal how much he liked Sirius, he took a sip of his tea. ‘He’s really reserved- I reckon only James knows anything about him, really’  
Hope pursed her lips. It seemed to Remus as though she knew something he didn’t, but was unwilling to share it unless prompted. She changed the subject. ‘James’ mother- that's Euphemia Potter, yes?’  
Remus nodded.   
‘Lovely woman, she is. Lives in that old cottage by first carpark, I think. Anyway, she told me James and Sirius are like that’- Hope crossed her fingers- ‘so I wouldn’t be surprised if James knew something we didn’t’. She took a gossipy sip of her tea.  
‘I know you know something’, Remus said, raising his eyebrows at her. Hope smiled.  
‘More than you do’

The next day brought a smiling James and a tired-looking Peter to Remus’ doorstep, up and at 'em and ready to surf. The air outside was cold and the boys were huddled in their woollies, cupping teas and hopping from foot to foot as they waiting for Remus to organise himself. Remus did not feel bad about his still pyjama’d state when he answered the door. They got him up at the asscrack of dawn, they could pay the consequences and wait. The boys rode to second carpark with surfboards attached to their bikes and wetsuits slung over their handles- extra baggage which made Remus have to focus extra hard in order not to topple over. James, smooth as always, steered no handed over to Remus.  
‘You’re free the whole day?’, he asked, somehow managing to look at Remus and continue riding in a straight line.  
Remus did not take his eyes off the road when he answered, ‘Yes’. After all, he had nothing better to do.  
‘Perfect’, James said, braking slightly to keep in line with him. ‘We’re heading back to mine with chips after, for Sirius. Watching a David.’  
Remus had wondered where Sirius was that morning, and was rather pleased that he would still be able to see him that day. Despite his barely concealed crush, Remus did actually really enjoy Sirius’ company as a friend, too. ‘Is he alright?’  
‘Oh yeah, he’ll be right. Bad day, is all. Can’t surf- not today. That’s why we’re watching a David later’  
‘What’s a David?’  
Peter braked very suddenly up ahead and looked back at Remus with an affronted expression. ‘What’s a David?’, he mouthed, mimicking him to James, who laughed very loudly.  
‘Attenborough, mate. The docos. They’re our favourite’  
Remus found it extremely funny that the boys referred to David Attenborough by his first name, and decided he had to also adopt it. ‘Right, okay, a David. Blue planets his best, surely’  
‘Yeah, of course. Have you seen the jungle episode though? With the Cayman getting eaten by the Jaguar? That was sick as’  
Remus laughed. He did remember that episode.  
They arrived at second car park shortly after, and the chilly air whipped the boys at they pulled on their wetsuits. Remus was using one of James’ ones, and it was not only too big, but also wet.  
‘Sorry about that, mate’, James had said in Remus’ garden when he handed it over. Now, in the carpark, he laughed as Remus squirmed.  
The ocean was absolutely freezing, and Remus was absolutely terrible at surfing. He had assumed it would be much like snowboarding, or skateboarding- relatively easy to just hop on and go. Remus discovered, however, as soon as he stepped foot in the water, that he was very much mistaken. The waves were not tiny, as James had put it, but rather huge mountains that crashed on his head as Peter pulled him out far enough to catch a wave. Out the back James sat, occasionally catching an unbroken wave, and he would grin at Remus as he drifted over the bumps that, five seconds later, would pummel him. Peter had paddled out to join James once confident that Remus would not drown, thus leaving him to his own devices in the woolly whitewater. He couldn’t touch the bottom or see or feel his toes, and he was terrified of being left alone- yet despite this, Remus was having the time of his life. By the end of his lesson, if you could call it that, he could confidently say that surfing was exhilarating. Being ragdolled after a wipeout, of which Remus had a lot, and feeling the tug on his leggie to indicate he was still alive. Popping up finally, and the relief of air in his lungs after feeling as though he would drown. The brain freeze, the wind, the tug and pull of the current as he floated around on his board. The thrill of the drop- that feeling of finally getting on a wave- standing up and falling in. The air was colder than the water, and Remus couldn’t feel his hands. There was salt water in his eyes and ears and his palms were turning blue. He absolutely loved it.  
They trudged, wheeling their bikes along with them, to the chip shop in town. Shaking violently with cold, James smiled at the cashier, ignoring her unamused stare at his sand coated feet. Remus and Peter stood laughing sheepishly in the back.  
‘That’s Lily’s older sister’, Peter whispered, nodding his head towards the girl now taking James’ money. ‘If you think Lily hates Jam, that’s nothing on Petunia. She absolutely loathes him’  
Remus couldn’t help but giggle. ‘Does any girl in the town like James?’  
Peter shoved his hands under his armpits in an attempt to warm them up. He considered Remus’ question. ‘Marlene does. And her girlfriend, Dorcas. They’re Lily’s mates, of course, so they pretend not to, but James and Marlene are proper chummy’. He smiled through blue lips. ‘Marlene and Sirius fucked in the boat sheds around easter this year. Both 16, so it was legal, but it was still this huge scandal. Euphemia tried to discipline Sirius, but of course, she had to go easy on him. Ended up putting him in therapy instead’  
James wandered over. ‘I hope you’re not spilling all of Sirius’ secrets, Pete’, he said, giving him a little shove.  
Peter looked worriedly at Remus, then back at James. ‘I thought Remus knew! You knew, didn’t you, that he has therapy?’  
‘I pretty much figured it out’, Remus said, feeling that he had to cover for Peter slightly.   
James smiled, leaning against the wall next to Remus. ‘You were gonna find out about it one way or another. No more talk of Sirius, though, Pete. Surely there’s more interesting subjects’  
Peter rolled his eyes and went to get the chips that Petunia had put down hard on the counter. He gave her his best smile, but she scoffed at him. ‘Bitch’, he muttered to the others as they left the shops.

**Author's Note:**

> hhhhhh i hope this formats okay


End file.
